Smoky Haze of August Forest Fires in Washington’s Mountains

Early August is the best time for summer backpacking in the North Cascades; the snow has melted, the flowers are blooming and although the hordes of bugs are snacking on your body, its beautiful, and very photogenic!

The New Moon this year was on August 11th, and so I decided to make an effort to get to some cool spots to take advantage of the weather and get some shots.

The Goat Rocks Wilderness was the first trip, we hiked from the Snow Grass Flats trailhead up to the PCT, where we headed north and camped beneath Old Snowy. I had been dreaming of this spot to camp for several reasons: first, from this vantage point one can see both Mt Rainier and Mt Adams. Second, the camp left us in short walking distance to the Knife’s Edge. I had always thought that being there for sunset, night sky and sunrise would be unparalleled.

The smoke from a local forest fire filled the sky with haze. The horizon, on a 360 degree view, was filled to the point that Mt Rainer was invisible all day, as was Mt Adams. Looking straight up, the sky was blue, all else a orange-brown.

So much for the plan! We awaited sunset and then hiked to the Knifes Edge. As the sun set the Mountains showed themselves.

The night brought more smoke and haze, no stars!

My next foray into the wilds in pursuit of night sky images was Sunday, to the Winchester Mountain Lookout. Leaving early to claim it for the night we arrived at 11am. The day was cloudy, the forecast to clear and be sunny and smoke free for several days…

About 40 people or so made it up to the Lookout to day hike, and enjoys the clouds. The day stayed cloudy.

More and more people came to camp, three in one group, 2 more couples, all with dogs, and then a couple with a baby! At the end more than 12 people spent the night on the Mountain.

The clouds looked like they were dissipating, and there was blue…then in the span of a few hours, the clouds left, only to be replaced with a thick brown smoke.

Disappointed, I dozed off dreaming of sky with stars. I awoke at midnight and could see stars through the lookout window, so I managed to convince myself to get up and go see.

Surprisingly the sky was clear above, the horizons still smoke-filled, but the stars were bright. I awoke the various other photographers present and we got a few shots.

I am hoping for cool, crisp, smoke-free skies for the New Moon in September!

Smoky Haze of August Forest Fires in Washington’s Mountains